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209 25 For Every Mobutu a Kabila W hen His Excellency, Marshall Sese Seko Mobutu was recently persuaded to interrupt his terminal cancer treatment in France and return to Zaire because his empire was collapsing at an alarming rate, he reached Zaire and refused to show his face, thereby giving cause for wild speculations. Those who had gone to the airport to receive Mobutu. including journalists and even the little flower girls were chased away without any explanation. Some people thus started speculating that, maybe, the presidential plane had come empty or even that he may have passed out on the way. But two days later, the Leviathan emerged and announced, “Je m’appelle Mobutu” (My name is Mobutu). Apparently, he needed to assure everyone that they were not seeing a ghost. Me voici à Douala type of thing, quoi. Maybe he equally needed to reassure himself. He is hanging on precariously to both life and power, as prostate cancer and Laurent Kabila close in on him decisively. What account can Mobutu give of himself and his over three decades of absolute rule in this his final hour of both power and life, before Zairians, humanity and God? He came into power under the guise of a Messiah and took control of one of the richest African countries. He is now bowing out of life and power as one of the richest individuals in the world while Zaire has assumed the status of one of the poorest countries on earth. Mobutu declared that he hadn’t returned to Zaire to take care of his so-called financial empire which everyone likes talking about but rather in the interest of unity and peace in his country. If he really wants unity, peace and well-being in his country, do you think he doesn’t know what to do? If he were patriotic and wanted to do Zaire and Zairians a parting favour, would he not have thrown in the towel, even this belatedly, and left them to sort out themselves and their lot as best as they can? What can Mobutu now do for Zaire? After over three decades of indescribable rape and pillage 210 Road Companion to Democracy and Meritocracy and plunder, (are you familiar with that description?) what can he again salvage? Is it possible to crush a tender flower or rape an innocent child and then undo the act again? The OAU conference recently held in Lome, Togo, to “prevent disaster in the Grands Lacs region,” has all the outline elements of farcical play-acting. What are we supposed to make of the likes of the Eyademe of Togo, Abacha of Nigeria and ours truly of Cameroon sitting down and piously and solemnly calling for peace, dialogue and reconciliation in Zaire? These are the Does of Africa whose litany we sang long ago. Each of them has his own Kabila. Why don’t they each reconcile with their own respective Kabilas, ensure dialogue, peace and reconciliation in their own respective kingdoms before trying to remove the speck in their neighbour’s eye? Was their pretentious meeting not, perhaps, called in solidarity with their chum, Mobutu, to slow down Kabila or prevent him from completing his messianic mission? If Kabila really understands his messianic mission, he should march on without paying any attention to the empty noises coming from Lome to subvert his salvific mission. But once his mission is accomplished, he should retire and withdraw from the scene. This is the aspect of messianism that every messiah, so far, except Jesus their/prototype, has failed to comprehend. No messiah can really govern, except from a safe distance like heaven, without the risk of ending up as a Doe. The Kingdom of every true messiah is not of this world where power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. My honest advice to Laurent Kabila would be that he should complete the liberation of Zaire, supervise free, fair and transparent democratic elections, and then retire from both the army and public life. The path to political immortality lies in not clinging on to power. If our own Mobutu were to throw in the towel, even this belatedly, he would, at least partially, be politically immortalised. Many people don’t realise that the main reason we are often nostalgic about Ahidjo, in spite of his dictatorship, is that he voluntarily (whether willingly or unwillingly) gave up power. Had Ahidjo continued clinging on to the absolute power he was wielding until...

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